Here's my bio after lurking for a year or so.

I live in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia, am 50 years old, married to Dawn for 21
years
and have 2 teenage children. At present I am working as a dealer's
representative
trading in stocks and shares in Kuala Lumpur.

First became interested in woodworking more than 15 years ago but started
very
slowly. At that time I read a lot but did not do much. Now I try to do it
the other way.

After more than a year, I finally completed my workbench. Not a traditional
one
but one based on a torsion box design by Tom Casper, using 2x3s, 2x4s and
3/4 inch plywood. It was mostly handtool work, though I used the tailed
drill.
It's fitted with a Record 52 1/2 vise. The bench dog strip was made of a
local hardwood, Chengal. The tail vise is made from a handscrew, an
ingenious
improvisation of Tom. It's a utilitarian kind of bench, very heavy and
sturdy and
I am enjoying working on it.

Besides the workbench I have not really completed many projects. But working
on it I am. The first one is a small kitchen renovation, which SWMBO wanted
some
5 years ago, involving adding a shelf with some decoration using Nyatoh wood
to
match the existing kitchen cabinets. SWMBO was very happy with the finished
work.
My current project are two small end tables, also using Nyatoh wood.

It's hard to get old tools in this corner of the world. So I have bought
mostly new ones.
My tools include Stanley # 5, # 7,  #78, a spokeshave and a Record block
plane # 9-1/2,
some Stanley rip, crosscut and tenon saws. Did manage to buy some old tools
during
a trip to South Africa last November. I bought at a flea market a drawknife
(9 inch, marked J.M. Fuchs, KANSTATT) , an Ulmia wooden smoothing plane
and a Record #80 scraper plane. Using the drawknife and smoother is a real
pleasure.
I am still trying to get the #80 to work. But I really like these old tools
and want to
get more.

I am planning a vacation my family in New Zealand (Auckland area) in
December.
First question : Are there any tool haunts in the Auckland area?

I am glad I discovered the Porch. Mostly I will be listening to the
collective wisdom
and the entertaining stories. Thanks a lot.

PakCheong Boey